UPDATED June 17, 10:47 a.m. ET: An update has been issued regarding Christian Eriksen. According to the statement, he will have a defibrillator implanted to help prevent future heart episodes. The ICD will be used to monitor his heart rhythm.
See original story from 6/12/21 below.
Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland has been suspended after star midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during the first half in Copenhagen.
With the score 0-0 heading toward halftime, the 29-year-old appeared to fall to the ground as a throw in was directed towards him.
The game was stopped and Denmark players stood around and sheltered Eriksen as he received treatment from medical staff. Eriksen was then carried off the pitch and the game was suspended by UEFA.
According to the UEFA, Eriksen is in stable condition and is being transferred to a local hospital.
“Following the medical emergency involving Denmark’s player Christian Eriksen, a crisis meeting has taken place with both teams and match officials and further information will be communicated by 19:45 CET,” UEFA wrote in a tweet. “The player has been transferred to the hospital and has been stabilized.”
Shortly after the stoppage, people on social media were quick to call out ESPN for how they covered the incident.
“Embarrassing effort by ESPN showing Eriksen’s wife,” Nick Kostos, a sports betting personality for Audacy, wrote in a tweet. “Even the announcers are basically saying they shouldn’t be broadcasting this. Just horrendous. They deserve tons of criticism for this.”
Meanwhile, others, including former Deadspin writer Timothy Burke, pointed out that the UEFA, not ESPN, controls the Euro 2020 action.
“Seeing a lot of invective being hurled at ESPN right now,” Burke wrote in a post. “ESPN has no control over the images it airs, nor does Univision. It’s a unified feed controlled by UEFA. BBC1, Univision, and ESPN all aired identical video of the incident and its aftermath. They all went to studio at about the same time.”
